A picture of former U.S. President Donald Trump talking to his chief of staff Mark Meadows is seen as Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to Mr. Meadows, testifies as the select committee of the House investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds a hearing Jan. 6. June 28. SHAWN THEW / The Associated Press
The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot returns to prime time with a Thursday evening hearing that will examine the more than three-hour stretch when Donald Trump failed to act as a mob of supporters stormed in. the Capitol.
The committee is struggling to gather newly emerging evidence and the session could be the last in a series of public hearings that began in early June. A lawyer for former Trump strategist Steve Bannon, who faces criminal charges after months of challenging a congressional summons, told the committee over the weekend that Mr. Bannon could now be willing to testify, according to committee members.
“I hope we get news from him and there are a lot of questions we have for him,” Rep. Zoe Lofgren said. She and other committee members said they intend to have Mr. Bannon sat down for a private interview, which is usually done in a sworn witness statement.
Thursday’s hearing will be the first at prime time since the June 9 debut which was seen by 20 million people. A hearing on Tuesday will focus on the conspiracy and planning of the January 6, 2021 uprising of white nationalist groups such as the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers and the Three Percenters, and will also highlight the testimony taken Friday by the former lawyer of the White House. Pat Cipollone.
Investigators are delving into the piles of evidence gathered so far about the role extremist groups played in the deadly insurgency and what the former president was doing when the violence took place on the street from the White House.
Representative Adam Kinzinger, who will lead Thursday’s hearing with Rep. Elaine Luria, described the upcoming testimony as key to providing an extensive chronology of what Mr. and Mrs. Trump in those critical hours of the afternoon of January 6, 2021. This includes Mr. Tweet. Trump criticizing Vice President Mike Pence for lacking “courage,” as angry protesters outside the Capitol were heard singing “Hang Mike Pence” for not challenging Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.
“We want to show the American people what the president was doing during that time,” Mr. Kinzinger on Sunday. “The rest of the country knew there was an insurrection. The president, of course, must have known there was an insurrection. So where was he? What was he doing? It’s a very important audience. Pay attention. Because I think it goes to the heart of what a leader’s oath is. “
The news of the hearing comes when Congress returns to Washington after a two-week break. Committee lawmakers had indicated in mid-June that there would be no more hearings until July, but in late June they held a surprise hearing over the testimony of former Trump aide to the White House Cassidy Hutchinson.
His explosive testimony provided the most compelling evidence that Mr. Trump could be linked to a federal crime. Since then, the committee of seven Democrats and two Republicans has seen an influx of new information and confidential advice.
Tuesday’s hearing will explore efforts to gather the crowd at the National Mall and then organize the march along Pennsylvania Avenue, where some rioters, armed with pipes, bats and bear spray, charged at the Capitol, quickly invading the overwhelmed police force. More than 100 police officers were injured, many times, bleeding and bruising, that day.
He will also highlight a meeting on December 18, 2020 at the White House at which former Trump lawyers Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani, former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn and others raised the idea of seizing voting machines and invoke national security emergency powers. , to the heated objection of several White House attorneys who argued that Mr. Trump should accept his defeat, according to Rep. Jamie Raskin, who will lead Tuesday’s hearing.
“We will take full advantage of Mr. Cipollone’s testimony,” he said. “I was aware of all the major moves, I think, that Donald Trump was making to try to overthrow the 2020 election and essentially seize the presidency.”
Lawmakers also plan to look at funding for the various rallies and meetings around Washington that were planned that day.
The apparent turn of Mr. Bannon in the statement arrives when he faces a criminal trial this month for two charges of contempt in Congress for challenging the committee’s summons. He has argued that his testimony is protected by the claim of executive privilege of Mr. Trump, a statement that the committee has answered as questionable because Mr. Trump had fired Mr. Bannon of the White House in 2017 and therefore Mr. Bannon was a private citizen when he was consulting with Mr. Trump in the run-up to the riots.
Mr. Bannon has expressed his preference for a public hearing, but on Sunday committee members denied it.
“The way we have treated all the witnesses is the same, they come in, they talk to the committee,” Mr. Raskin. “If they’re going to take a statement, they’ll swear under oath. It’s videotaped. It’s recorded, and then we take it from there.”
The committee says it wants to hear from Mr. Bannon because “he had specific knowledge about the events scheduled for Jan. 6 before they occurred.” He cited as an example comments he made on his podcast the day before the riot.
“It won’t happen the way you think it will. Okay, it will be extraordinarily different. All I can say is put on my leash,” Mr. Bannon in this podcast. “All hell will be delivered tomorrow. … A lot of people said, ‘Man, if I were in a revolution, I’d be in Washington.’ Well, this is your moment in history.”
Mr. Kinzinger spoke to ABC this weekMrs. Lofgren was on CNN State of the Unionand Mr. Raskin appeared on CBS ‘ Face the Nation.
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